‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Could Be Getting Another Reboot

Since he was introduced in 1984, Wes Craven’s “bastard son of a hundred maniacs” Freddy Krueger has become one of the most well-loved and imitated characters in the entire slasher subgenre of horror. Appearing in seven films in his original series, along with a crossover film and a 2010 reboot, Freddy’s cinematic legacy is not quite the potent fear machine it was in years past. While the 2010 reimagining starring Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) as Krueger performed reasonably well at the box office, it didn’t excel enough to generate interest in a sequel.

Now, series owners New Line and Warner Bros. may be looking to take Freddy in yet another direction. According to the Tracking Board, New Line is preparing yet another reboot to the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, which will completely scrap any of the events from the critically panned 2010 film. The site’s report indicates that New Line is already hard at work on bringing Freddy back to life, even having already enlisted a screenwriter and producers for the task. David Leslie Johnson, who was recently enlisted to take on the new Dungeons and Dragons film, is reportedly the screenwriter chosen to script what will become the third incarnation of the Nightmare franchise.

Freddy isn’t the only horror slasher making a return to theaters in the future, as the report also makes mention of new films in the Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchises being developed at their respective studios. Friday the 13th will reportedly also be a reboot, disregarding the 2009 remake of that series that stands as the second highest-grossing film in that franchise next to the 2003 crossover film Freddy vs. Jason. Last month, Dimension Films signed director Marcus Dunstan to direct their series “recalibration” entitled Halloween Returns, while a Texas Chainsaw prequel reportedly entitles Leatherface has already been cast at New Line.

Longtime franchise fans of the Nightmare series will likely be disappointed by this news, since it probably means that the man who made Freddy famous, actor Robert Englund, will not be reprising his iconic role. Englund last played the part in 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason, and also reprised the part for Freddy’s last solo outing prior to the reboot, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. For more on the new Nightmare film as it takes shape, keep it locked on GeekNation!